Kannon Tsuchimikado
Kannon Tsuchimikado (土御門=観音, Tsuchimikado Kannon, literally "Honorable Soil Gate, Deity of Mercy") is a former Shinigami of the 13 Division Imperial Guards—and the first Second Division Captain; as well as the first commander of the Onmitsukidō. She deserted the group centuries ago because of Head-Captain Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's ruthlessness; repulsed by this, she cut away all of her ties to the spirit world and now has spent the remainder of her life wandering the spiritual dimensions, aiding those in need. As her tenure as the Second Division Captain, Kannon was known as the Tempestuous God of Valor (勇武の荒神, Yūbu no Aragami) for her bravery and overwhelming speed, which has been touted to perhaps exceed even Yoruichi Shihōin's; though there is no evidence as of yet to back up this claim. Appearance Kannon possesses a figure of tomboyish charm; that is to say she has a less feminine frame then that of other females, but it doesn't make her any less attractive. It is natural for men to be drawn of her because of her stunning looks; which she uses to take advantage of them time and time again despite her apparent age. She possesses striking silver hair which travels down just below her waist, and is tied up with a ribbon at the back. Her eyes are a fierce amber color, and are noted to easily change in their expressions. Her outfit mainly consists of a slightly loose, but fitting white dress shirt that enhances her great figure with two suspenders that attach to her crimson, long pants. Along with this, she appears to wear a pair of high-heeled stilletos, despite her very active fighting style. Throughout her attire there is a motif of a priestess, symbolic with the use of red and white fabrics throughout her attire. Why this is the case is left a mystery. Personality For a personality, Kannon is a rather cheerful and lighthearted woman who enjoys the simple things in life; such acknowledging that the sky is blue every day. She has a certain zest about her that causes her to walk onwards with a bounce in her step; she is always encouraging others to smile about the most trivial of things. She is polite and kind towards everyone, even those who do not return this friendliness. She does not like to lie; as she mentions after Shinji Hirako found about her position as the former Second Division Captain that she was relieved she was able to tell him the truth and apologizes for having to lie to him the entire time. History Synopsis Powers and Abilities Master Swordsmanship Specialist: Kannon is an absolute prodigy with her sword; during her time in the 13 Division Imperial Guards, she developed a Zanjutsu style which was the perfect counter to her Captain-Commander's. It was this, in conjunction to her sheer skill with her speed, that earned her the title of Kensei (剣聖, "Sword Saint") during her time with the 13 Division Imperial Guards. Even centuries after leaving the 13 Division Imperial Guards, Kannon's skill never wavered; even now, she can take on the current Captains of the current 13 Division Imperial Guards without breaking a sweat. *'Niten Ichi-ryū' (二天一流, "Two Heavens As One" style): This personalized Zanjutsu style which Kannon developed, relies on economy of motion and energy efficiency, keeping up constant blade-movement to build up momentum and minimize energy-expenditure; utilizing tight moves, consisting of subtle dodges and efficient parries, intended to provide maximum defensive coverage, and minimize exposure to ranged attacks. It focuses on strong defensive technique to essentially outlast an opponent, waiting until they begin making mistakes due to frustration or fatigue, before taking advantage of these lapses and countering. As she mastered this style, Kanon became considered invincible, and the focus on long-term survival allowed such her to take stock of and control of her situation, choosing to kill, disarm, or even reason with enemies. **'Ryūsuikiru' (流水切る, Flowing Water Cut) Ryūsuikiru is a special Zanjutsu technique designed by Kannon for going blade-to-blade with her opponent. The main principle is be as flexible as flowing water, such that, when the opponent withdraws his Zanpakutō, instead of also withdrawing, Kannon follows the opponent through, cutting through their body. The technique was so named due to it being analogous to the expanding of water into an empty vessel. The Ryūsuikiru is explicitly a reference to legendary , who, in his , used a technique of the same name. Shunpō Master: As the previous head of the Second Division and the first leader of the Onmitsukidō, Kannon shows absolutely overwhelming skill in the art of Shunpō. It is theorized that Kannon is in possession of enough expertise in this art to enable her to easily outstrip Yoruichi Shihōin's; but as stated before, there is—and never will be—any evidence to support this. Excelling in hit-and-run tactics, Kannon has been shown to be able to evade many a combatant in both long and close-range; even that of the current Captains of the 13 Division Imperial Guards with tremendous ease. Her movements are so tremendously swift that few would be likely to see an attack take place—this enables her to attack almost a multiple of ten times in a row per second; and she manages to move fast enough to instantly close a huge gap of space between her and the opponent and even seemingly disappear from sight in the span of a millisecond. *'Shihō no San: Utsusemi' (三の四楓空蝉, Way of Onmitsu, 3rd of the Shihō: Cicada, referencing their molting): One of the most basic Shunpō techniques taught in the Onmitsukidō; Kannon charges reishi in her hands and feet, before trailing it down into her center; compressing the reishi before swiftly decompressing it, enabling an incredible burst of speed which grants Kannon a swift movement, leaving an afterimage behind as she moves. Taking this even further, she is even able to infuse her fire reiatsu into the technique, inflicting damage when the afterimage fades. Master Hand-to-Hand Combatant: As the first leader of the Onmitsukidō, she is Kannon was always required to be highly proficient in hand-to-hand combat, which she had been training in ever since she founded the Onmitsukidō many centuries ago; and her skill level has only increased from there after her departure from Soul Society to the point that she could rival Yamamoto himself. Kannon is most likely the most proficient Hakuda user to ever be created in all of Soul Society; with very few being able to match her in sheer skill. She can sufficiently deflect others' attacks and unleash her own blows, also being highly knowledgeable in counterattacking. Her attacks possess several magnitudes worth of impressive swiftness and power, leaving absolutely zero time for her foes to attempt to futilely counterattack. Additionally, it has proven difficult to actively lay a hand on her unless in the rare occasion that she enables this rare chance to occur. Enhanced Strength: Kannon is strong enough to take on much larger opponents despite her diminutive stature, easily overcoming those ten times her own size. Enhanced Durability: Kannon is incredibly durable, able sustain being kicked into buildings with enough force to go through walls and bring whole sections down on top of her while gaining absolutely zero injury. Immense Spiritual Power: Kannon's reiatsu produces the same effect of her Zanpakutō; as it is the elemental representative of fire. When sufficiently angered, the first Second Division Captain has a habit of releasing a blazing aura which has the potential to burn and set his surroundings on fire without the use of her Zanpakutō. It is the tricky pressure of her reiatsu that makes the reiatsu itself look like flames. It has been noted that Kannon's reiatsu is second only to Yamamoto's. Zanpakutō Shuntensatsu (瞬天殺, literally, Immediate Killing By Heaven's Blade) is the name of Kannon's Zanpakutō. In it's sealed state, Shuntensatsu takes the form of a daitō (which is a Japanese long sword); with a golden blade. The cross guard has eight prongs which bend upwards and extend out as if it were a water wheel; these prongs are decorated on the blade for the sole purpose of catching opposing sword swings and other offensive blows. Crimson ring-like symbols run across the length of the blade of Shuntensatsu and it has an additional crimson ring on the base of the hilt of the sword. Interesting to note is that the prongs of Shuntensatsu play a major part in unleashing its sealed state ability. *'Sealed Ability: Hisōten' (東方緋想天, "Skies of Scarlet Perceptions")" Shuntensatsu's special sealed ability; the prongs on the daitō begin to gather and converge stray reishi in the atmosphere into a singular point, which then trails up the blade, refining the energy as it all focuses on the tip of her Zanpakutō. There, with a singular thrusting motion, Kannon releases the reishi in the form of an incredible discharge of crimson cackling energy which takes upon the form of two crossed crescent moons. Due to her intimacy with her Zanpakutō's inner workings, Kannon is able to effortlessly change the size and direction of the attack, as well as pour more reishi into the attack in order to increase the damage it inflicts. Kannon can also separate Hageyamanoichiya into several sections and utilize them for multi-directional onslaughts. Shikai: Awoken by the release command, "Grasp it, Shuntensatsu" (をつかみ, 瞬天殺, "O tsukami, Shuntensatsu!"), Shuntensatsu has the reishi that composes it break down into mere reishi particles and then instantly reform itself in a new appearance. In this form, Shuntensatsu is a giant zanbatō- which is almost double Kannon's height- with a revolver chamber, which serves as the hilt for the blade. The blade is curved and notched, with a noticeably sharp edge. The crossguard is coloured in silver and black, with numerous checkered designs adorned upon the guard. Because of its incredible size, the wide blade of Shuntensatsu can be utilized in the manner of a sturdy shield to deflect oncoming attacks, both physical and those composed of spiritual energy. Shikai Special Ability: Shuntensatsu's special ability is known Pyrokinesis (発火能力 (パイロキネシス), Pairokineshisu, Japanese for "Ignition Power", English for "Pyrokinesis"); and it enables Kannon to control and manipulate the kinetic energy of reishi to generate, control or absorb fire. This is induced by Kannon raising the motion of a target's reishi through telekinesis in order to ignite it. She can excite or speed up an object's reishi, increasing their thermal energy until they ignite, not necessarily objects, but also air particles. She can control and move the flames, including the shape, heat and even colour. Fire is the element of power, consisting of overpowering force tempered by the unflinching will to accomplish tasks and desires. Kannon's pyrokinesis draws its power from the sun, and its effectiveness is drastically increased on a particularly hot day. Kannon's usage of pyrokinesis is notable for augmenting her intensive attacking style and possessing a general lack of adequate defense moves; though with the sheer force that she attacks with, this is hardly a problem. Bankai: Hyakushi Gōmaboroshi (百八業幻, "One Hundred and Eight Visions of Karma"): In Bankai, the blade of Shuntensatsu completely disappears; though in return, Kannon gains a blazing aura of fire about her. Bankai Special Abilities: Hyakushi Gōmaboroshi's special ability is an odd one; as in that it forgoes any former abilities the Shikai had in favor of something far deadlier. It has no offensive abilities; but instead, it has an extremely powerful defensive/counterattacking ability. Hyakushi Gōmaboroshi forges a link to the opponent's soul; and with that, it searches out any misdeeds they have performed in their life and memorizes them. Whenever the foe assaults Kannon in any way, these past deeds resurface as the foe receives karma, being countered by receiving the same type of force that they once inflicted upon something or somebody tenfold—for example, if they stabbed somebody out of jealousy or spite, then they will feel the force of being stabbed tenfold the moment that they attempt to stab Kannon in the same manner; leaving Kannon unharmed. The mechanics of this ability are virtually unknown, but it is certain that this ability is extremely powerful. Trivia *Kannon is Queen's first BLEACH character. *The description of Kannon's Shikai ability was generously given to me by Perchan; my first friend on wiki.